Layoffs announced at Sony Online Entertainment

Focusing on EQ Next

Sony Online Entertainment laid off an unspecified number of its employees today. An SOE representative posted about the eliminated positions on the DC Universe Online forums (via Gamasutra).

"As a company, our goal is to focus on our core expertise of MMO games and as part of these efforts, we had to make the difficult decision to eliminate positions to help reduce costs, streamline our employee base and strategically align resources towards our current portfolio of games and upcoming slate of MMOs, including EverQuest Next Landmark and EverQuest Next," the representative wrote. "We deeply value our employees and are grateful for all they’ve contributed to our company and games. They will be missed by colleagues and friends, and we wish them well in the future."

SOE president John Smedley confirmed the layoffs via Twitter:

:( sorry to say that we did have layoffs. We're still moving forward with all our current games and games in developmentAugust 28, 2013

SOE confirmed to Gamasutra that positions in both its San Diego and Austin offices were eliminated. Smedley later tweeted that the development of PlanetSide 2 won't be affected. That means SOE's slate of older titles--such as EverQuest 2 and Free Realms--may be left to feel the cuts.